Tottenham set for £3BILLION takeover bid from Iranian-American billionaire

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Antonio Conte hints at Tottenham Hotspur departure

Jahm Najafi, an Iranian-American billionaire is currently preparing a group of investors to launch a $3.75bn (£3.1bn) takeover bid for the ownership of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

Reports suggest that Najafi, who is the existing chair of MSP Sports Capital – is working alongside an agency to properly construct the remaining facets of the pending bid, with the group expected to approach Spur’s owner Joe Lewis and chairman Daniel Levy in the weeks to come.

An insider’s view summarizes that both Najafi and MSP would put forward the initial 70 percent of the capital, whilst the remaining 30 percent will be subsequently paid by backers from the Gulf and Abu Dhabi respectively.

The £3.1bn bid for the London club not only accounts for the club’s equity, but also establishes a blanket that safe nets the club’s current debts.

Tottenham is currently valued at approximately £2.5bn, with debts surmounting in excess of £610m.

I speak for most when I say it is a breath of fresh air for us Tottenham fans. It speaks to the dawn of a new era. The news is wholeheartedly welcomed. Let us continue to count the days to redemption, the days to renewed belief.

And though we are eager to see our beloved club grow, praises are in order for the development of a new stadium, debatable yet ‘efficient’ financial management, and Tottenham’s competitive attitude amongst the top echelons of the Premier League.

MSP was founded by former sports agent Jeff Moorad and Najafi. Their initial interests were sparked by Tottenham consistently being among the figureheads of European football.

Further interests stemmed from the Najafi-led group’s desire to also acquire the potential real estate and development rights that would be guaranteed through unilateral ownership.

Najafi would become the latest US billionaire to join the likes of the Premier League, after both Chelsea and Bournemouth were bought by American owners the previous year.

His future involvement at Tottenham wouldn’t be his first dabble in the sporting world, with Najafi upon till recently being the vice-chair of NBA giants Phoenix Suns, was also earnestly invested in fulfilling his role as a governor on the board of the NBA.

This revived interest in Tottenham comes at a time when both Manchester United and Liverpool are up for sale by American investors, and are looking to inevitably bolster their charge towards local dominance.

Assuming a deal is secured, Spurs would become the 11th Premier League team to be owned by an American.

Antonio Conte subliminally hints about his future after Tottenham by reminiscing about his time in Italy

If that wasn’t already a lot to digest, it is now being reported that Antonio Conte has probed at the idea of leaving Tottenham and returning to Italian football, regurgitating that the nation “is in my heart”.

An overall dismal Spurs performance saw them go down 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie versus Milan, with a former Premier League youngster Brahim Diaz scoring a routined header from close range.

Regardless of our disoriented first-leg appearance, the tie remains firmly balanced in Tottenham’s favour. A dominant home performance will guarantee us a spot amongst the last 8, amid a terrible Milan away from home this season.

Rodrigo Bentancur, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the loss versus Leicester, is now set to sit out the remainder of the season.

Lest we forget Yves Bissouma’s ankle injury that could keep him out until the end of the campaign, and a suspended Pierre-Emile Hojberg.

After the defeat in Milan, Conte pounced at the opportunity to once again reiterate the idea of a possible return to Italy, poking at thoughts about his likely future.

“I don’t want to talk about the future but as a former Italian national manager people know how much Italy means to me,”
Antonio Conte

Conte explained after the game.

“It’s in my heart. I will never exclude the possible idea that I will be back here one day.”
Antonio Conte

Conte struck a more positive note for Spurs when referring to turning the tie on its head:

“For qualification you have to play two games. It is the first game away and the atmosphere was fantastic.”

“I know the San Siro and I know the difficulty to play with this atmosphere. In the second game we have to play at our stadium and our fans will create the atmosphere to help us overcome the Milan obstacle.”

“I think we played against a good team and don’t forget Milan last season won the league in Italy. I think that to concede the first goal we can do much better.

“Instead we concede a goal after maybe only 5 minutes. Then we try to lead the game and create a situation to score but I think Milan defended very well. We created the chances to score but in the end we are talking about a defeat, a loss.”
Antonio Conte

It’s safe to assume that Antonio’s time at Tottenham may be coming to an end. Irrespective of his recent run of results, it must be acknowledged that Conte has brought along with him his willing mentality to the Tottenham family.

It’s quite easy to point fingers at Conte for not improving his set of players and changing his tactics.

It’s even easier to put Levy on trial for his ineptness in forging a squad capable of challenging for titles.

Truthfully, there’s plenty of sorting needed to be done at Tottenham Hotspur right now.